willigvswilligenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: willig is a adjective, willigen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“willig” is an adjective and “willigen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,843
“willig” frequency rank
#36,737
“willigen” frequency rank
62580
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature willig willigen
Definition Erwartungen, Anforderungen von anderen gerne erfüllend (freiwillig, mit Freude, willig) seine Einwilligung erklären

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set willig and willigen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
willig
8 ch
willigen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

willig and willigen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “willig” sits inside “willigen” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

willig is recorded at frequency rank #25,843, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪlɪç]. willigen is at rank #36,737, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɪlɪɡn̩].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 62580, this pair ranks #707,677 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

willig#25,843
willigen#36,737

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "willig" and "willigen" be used interchangeably?
No, "willig" and "willigen" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering willig vs willigen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “willig”; for a verb, it's “willigen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “willig” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list